


Inktober 2017: 31 days of Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail

by potofsoup



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Fanart of fanfic, Gen, Inktober 2017, M/M, for Owlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-02 20:52:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12734097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potofsoup/pseuds/potofsoup
Summary: For Inktober 2017 I decided to draw a picture for each of the first 30 chapters ofOwlet'sThe Long Road Begins at Home.I'll post these in batches over the next few days.





	1. The Olds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [owlet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlet/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Long Road Begins at Home](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822) by [owlet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlet/pseuds/owlet). 




	2. Ch.1: Blood loss and awkwardness

 

[Chapter 1: Blood Loss and Awkwardness](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/12329681)

 

> Rogers wears an expression of surprise.
> 
> "There's a plastic bag inside," Lidia says, then, to Rogers, "he likes to know how things work."
> 
> That is accurate.


	3. Incremental adjustments

 

[Chapter 2: Incremental Adjustments](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/12464606)

>   
>  And then the tweezers and the scissors go away, and Barnes hasn’t lashed out even once. All the knives stayed where they should. He only sweated a moderate amount. That is fortunate.
> 
> Although. It’s possible Romanoff has done all that trouble-making on purpose, just to distract him.
> 
> Yikes.  
> 


	4. Turkeys > Spiders

 

[Chapter 3: Turkeys > Spiders](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/12557876)

>   
>  He shakes the plant again, for emphasis.
> 
> “Bucky, what are you doing?” Rogers asks.
> 
> Flying Sam takes the plant. He staggers a little under its weight. Maybe it is too big, after all.  
> 


	5. Barnes & Steve vs. Foolproof Thanksgiving

"The things we're thankful for."

[Chapter 4: Barnes & Steve vs. Foolproof Thanksgiving ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/12651362)

> Despite all the obstacles, Foolproof Thanksgiving turns out to be an excellent guide for dinner preparation by two morons who have no idea what they’re doing and only 3 hands. 


	6. Trust issues

 

[Chapter 5: Trust issues](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/12912007)

> “Intelligence acquired,” the soldier reports. “Assumed ally revealed to be former enemy. Probability of infiltration –“
> 
> Probability unknown. Conflicting data.
> 
> “Probability undetermined. Return to HYDRA refused.”
> 
> No code has been used. Self retains control. Options: 1. Query for further information. 2. Run. 3. Knife positioned to the left of the sternum between the fifth and sixth ribs, 3 kg of force exerted.  
> 


	7. On trees and trousers

 

[Chapter 6: On trees and trousers](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/13101706)

> “Pal. You wear t-shirts in toddler size. Why are you wearing a suit cut for an elephant?”  
> 


	8. Right and proper celebrations

 

[Chapter 7: Right and proper celebrations](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/13319455)

> It’s okay to hug a little bit. On a holiday, when you’ve found a way to say something that needed to come out.
> 
> “You’re home too,” Rogers says in his ear.
> 
> CONFIRM
> 
> Confirm, confirm.  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the month is in b/w, but the sleep pants demanded to be in color.


	9. Relocation, again

 

[Chapter 8: Relocation, again](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/13864417)

> The thing accepts the guard into its mouth.  
> 


	10. Mission protocols violated

 

[Chapter 9: Mission protocols violated](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/14044498)

> “Barnes. What are you doing in the closet? Is this helping, or are you punishing yourself?”
> 
> She’s too smart for anyone’s good. Barnes scoots farther back into the back corner of the closet. She will try to make him come out. He’s not allowed out. Steve is damaged.  
> 


	11. Brief interlude

 

[Chapter 10: Brief interlude ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/14152126)

> Rogers is currently playing a version of pool with Thor that involves holding the table off the ground and tilting it to make the balls go in the pockets.
> 
> He’s laughing more than Barnes has ever seen in this lifetime. The briefing aches a little.
> 
> On one hand, it’s desirable to see Steve happy. On the other, Barnes wants to punch Thor in the neck.  
> 


	12. Unwanted stories

  
  


 

[Chapter 11: Unwanted stories ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/14237317)

> “Healing efficiency lower than original serum permits scar formation given sufficient wound severity. Cryofreezing required for full scar resolution. No cryo subsequent to receiving these.”
> 
> One.
> 
> Two.
> 
> Three.
> 
> “Somebody gave you those in DC?” flying Sam asks.  
> 

And from [A Chance to Try Bravery](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5076952):

> The dubious benefit of a near-eidetic memory is that Steve can recall with perfect agony every word from Bucky’s mouth the day he fell apart right after they moved into the tower – even the ones Steve’s convinced Bucky didn’t know he said aloud. Those two voices speaking in succession: the flat, emotionless tone that he’s come to know as Bucky’s freak-out voice; and the other one – panicked, higher pitched, and so much like Bucky’s childhood voice that it had physically hurt to hear it – spilling out the worst parts, the details, the fear, all the while begging ‘don’t tell Steve, keep it hidden, it’ll only hurt him.’


	13. Preliminary clean-up

 

[Chapter 12: Preliminary clean-up ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/14299129)

> Rogers returns 90 minutes after flying Sam’s departure, looking pretty rough about the face. He stands in front of Barnes, opening and closing his mouth. Like words are also caught inside his throat, unable to emerge.
> 
> Barnes hands over the plate of cookies. Plain chocolate chip, nothing fancy, but Rogers almost smiles when he takes 3 of them.  
> 


	14. The world's least intelligent target

 

[Chapter 13: The world's least intelligent target ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/14407891)

> The moment has unlocked Rogers’s words for him. He talks for a long time after that, stories from when he and the Bucky-person were small children.
> 
> Tiny Bucky-person beat up a shit ton of small assholes on Steve Rogers’s behalf.
> 
> Good job, tiny Bucky-person.
> 
> CONFIRM  
> 


	15. Effective treatments for nightmares

 

[Chapter 14: Effective treatments for nightmares ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/14603209)

> Barnes reaches out and grasps Rogers’s wrist. Rogers inhales sharply. Barnes shakes once, then lets go.
> 
> Respiration normal. Pulse normal. Success.
> 
> “I never wanted to tell you those things,” he says.
> 
> “It’s okay, Bucky.”  
> 


	16. Spatial expansion

 

[Chapter 15: Spatial expansion](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/14788015)

> Rogers looks over frequently, checking in. It works. Barnes is satisfied to sit at the periphery and observe. It’s like the days of covert surveillance, except that he gets pizza and beer.  
> 


	17. Hair Club for Assassins

 

[Chapter 16: Hair Club for Assassins]()

> They let him sit to one side and listen while they comment on the show and talk about hair products. His hair smells like herbs. Once Potts leans over to pat his left knee twice and smile at him.
> 
> It makes a safe space. A weird space, but a safe one.  
> 


	18. Expanded communication options

 

[Chapter 17: Expanded communication options ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/15308647)

> The sandwich has a mild flavor, sharpened by the herby tang of the dill in the bread. A very pleasant combination for eating at 0227 while Rogers attempts to use his brain for something other than bad decisions.  
> 


	19. Détente

 

[Chapter 18: Détente ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/15471589)

> “Not everything’s your fault, pal.”
> 
> Barnes can see it. For 0.5 seconds, the guy actually thinks about protesting that.
> 
> Asshole.
> 
> Then he shoves more sushi into his face instead.
> 
> Good choice, Steve.
> 
> CONFIRM  
> 


	20. Snow day with superheroes

 

[Chapter 19: Snow day with superheroes ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/15508834)

> “You’re awful!” Rogers yells.
> 
> “Aw, too bad,” she shouts, “if only you had a hat on!”
> 
> That section of Central Park might never be the same. For certain, the placid, smooth expanse of snow has come to resemble a tornado’s path. The teams fall out as Rogers, Barton, and Stark against Barnes, Hill, and Romanoff, with the expected outcome: Hair Club demolishes the dudes.  
> 


	21. A crack in the armor

 

[Chapter 20: A crack in the armor ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/15595063)

> “Shoulda stopped it,” Rogers says to Barnes’s clavicle. “Shoulda seen something was wrong after Azzano. Never shoulda let it go, I knew. Why couldn’t. Shoulda done fucking anything, Buck, so they couldn’t hurt you. Bucky. The way they hurt you. I wanna fucking burn them to the goddamn ground. Bucky. For what they did. You never shoulda had to go through any of it. The things they did to you. Bucky I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry Bucky why didn’t I jump after you. Why didn’t I save –“
> 
> Here is a positive development: Barnes finds that his desire to ease Steve’s suffering is greater than the discomfort caused by proximity. It’s difficult, and he sweats a little, his teeth chatter a little, but mostly it is okay to allow Steve hold onto him and let some shit go. His whole right shoulder is a mess of facial effluvia anyhow, so what’s a little sweat mixed in there.  
> 


	22. The Anti--Valentine's No-Touch Club

 

[Chapter 21: The Anti--Valentine's No-Touch Club ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/15657586)

> “Bucky. You’re gonna turn that book into a boat.”
> 
> It has 1000 recipes. Submarine is much more likely.
> 
> “Give it here. Tell me what section and I’ll read it to you.”
> 
> Maybe it’s weird, that Barnes lies flat in the tub with only his nose above water, listening while Rogers sits on the counter next to the sink to read out the titles of all the recipes with chocolate in them. But it’s quiet, and it’s comfortable.  
> 


	23. Other people's projects

 

[Chapter 22: Other people's projects](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/15726934)

> That’s a disaster in the making.
> 
> “Bucky, give me a break. This is the one thing I know how to make, just trust me.”
> 
> Well. If it sucks, at least there’s plenty of good bread and good cheese.
> 
> Thankfully, the dinner turns out tasty: pasta with red sauce that almost tastes. Familiar.
> 
> “This is your ma’s recipe,” Rogers says in a hoarse voice, halfway through. “Knob of butter, a good, big pinch of saffron. She used to say she got it from the Italians who lived next to you when you were a baby.”  
> 


	24. Stepping among landmines

 

[Chapter 23: Stepping among landmines ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/15790141)

> Barnes finds that the physical connection, his hand on Steve’s arm, provides an anchor. He can’t forget where he is. He can remember that he stands in a safe place, with safe people. Not in a place where Dieter Graummann has ever been or is likely to ever be.
> 
> The words can come out of his mouth. But he doesn’t want to see Steve’s face when he says them, so he stares at the window again, at the river and Brooklyn. He wouldn’t want to say the words there, either, because Esther would cry.
> 
> “Sexual sadist,” he says.  
> 


	25. Revelations from ancient history

 

[Chapter 24: Revelations from ancient history](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/16157584)

> It’s part of the packet the briefing gave him: that sense of futility, sitting in a tent in the Alps, every action of his life worthless, now that Steve was huge and present and embroiled in every kind of danger. Since Steve didn’t need him anymore, with his giant new body and a new person at his side.
> 
> “It would’ve been okay to die, Steve. To keep you safe. No matter when we’re talking about.”
> 
> Rogers recoils, flaps his hands.
> 
> “No, but you had everything. We were best friends, but I was the one who needed you. You were. Everybody loved you.”
> 
> Mission. This guy.
> 
> CONFIRM
> 
> “You think it was an accident. That he was always around.”  
> 


	26. An important promise

 

[Chapter 25: An important promise](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/16292543)

> She settles back into her pillows, and her body relaxes.
> 
> “I trust you, James. You’ll keep Steve safe for me.”
> 
> “I will.”
> 
> Her eyes close again.
> 
> Barnes touches her hand. She is like him. She shares his mission, and her brain is not so reliable. He will keep the promise to her.  
> 


	27. Return, reunion, and a gendered meal

 

[Chapter 26: Return, reunion, and a gendered meal ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/16458973)

> Flying Sam’s ‘manly meal’ skews heavily toward protein. They eat bivalves, which feel weird in the mouth but are accompanied by interesting condiments.
> 
> “Don’t chew them!” flying Sam says, laughing. “Maybe one chew. That’s it. Otherwise you’ll be all day.”
> 
> “Oh my god, we used to cook these things like civilized people,” Rogers says, wiping his face clean of oyster juice.
> 
> He’s laughing too. That’s good.
> 
> “I am sorry, Steve, but cooked oysters are not a sign of civilization.”
> 
> They talk so much that Barnes gets the entire container of sauce with the tiny, chopped onions all to himself. He follows the advice and only chews each oyster once. Still pretty weird, but not without merit.  
> 


	28. Positive demonstrations

 

[Chapter 27: Positive demonstrations](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/16613341)

> Barnes looks at the photo again. It is.
> 
> Oh.
> 
> It is flying Sam’s version of the sunrise smile. That he doesn’t make anymore.
> 
> Wingman Riley would not have had creepy experimental serum. And there’s no coming back without it.
> 
> Identified: sorrow.  
> 


	29. A long think and a helpful action

 

[Chapter 28: A long think and a helpful action](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/16769299)

> “Did you fix it?” Danesha asks.
> 
> “I think so.”
> 
> “You’re the best person I’ve met this week,” she says. “Sorry, Steve.”
> 
> “Are you kidding? If he fixed that damn copy machine he’s the number one person of the month,” flying Sam says.
> 
> Nice.  
> 


	30. Returns, gifts, calculations

 

[Chapter 29: Returns, gifts, calculations](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/16930927)

> “Hey,” he says a moment later, “don’t put the green one away. I’m going to wear it.”
> 
> Her smirk carries with it a sense of deep self-satisfaction.
> 
> “I picked that one out,” she says.
> 
> Brat.  
> 


	31. Resolution of an equation

 

[Chapter 30: Resolution of an equation](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339822/chapters/17388424)

> And then: an offer that makes all the calculating Barnes has done since DC become clear. This trajectory he is on, the three parts of him together, is a thing made up of broken parts that is not itself intrinsically broken. He doesn’t need to forget, to move forward. He doesn’t need to erase his long past. It is sufficient just to be who he is.
> 
> He can sit on the balcony with Thor and watch the sun rise, eating cookies and answering Thor’s questions about memory and mission. And by the time Steve finds them, rumpled looking in the flying-pig pajamas, the itch in Barnes’s brain has eased. Something long untethered inside him has found an anchor. Maybe some other day he will define it, name the thing that ties all the parts of himself together with a new solidity. For the moment, just to feel it is enough.  
> 


	32. Physical Copy / PDF

Wow, that took slightly more than 31 days, but I'm glad for the opportunity to do this Inktober. If you want an at-cost physical copy or a PDF, please fill out this form: <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeEHImPCy-iXc_gUOZd6va2qeldIKpBTdzDXYE-LzGRzYZmhA/viewform>. Thanks for coming along for the ride! <3 <3 <3

(Now go reread Infinite Coffee if you haven't yet)

**Author's Note:**

> All of these are tumblr here: <http://potofsoup.tumblr.com/tagged/infinite+coffee/chrono>


End file.
